Jun 15, 2013 3:44 PM

I would appreciate any thoughts on whether these are fossilised bones. They were found together in Sandy Bedfordshire, in a sandy soil type. The rocks are solid and heavy. Note the holes through some of them, and one has a cross sectioned exposed which appears to display channelling.

Difficult to say from the photographs, but I do not think this is fossil bone, the texture appears to be granular and the circular section more likely to suggest a pyrite concretion.

Identifying fossil bone from rock or concretion can be tricky. Key features to look out for:

Is there any evidence of preservation of the internal bone structure, for e.g. can you see a honeycomb appearance due to the preservation of different canals and structure of the bone? If yes, this provides evidence that the object was biological in origin.

The porous nature of some fossil bones will cause it to slightly stick to your tongue if you lick it.

A rock or concretion will be solid, and the inside of the rock will look like the outside.

It is probably abiogenic. There is clearly a good deal of iron in the sediment, and iron-rich sediments are good candidates for concretions, Leisegang rings, etc - features showing movement of iron / iron compunds through the rock. Sometimes fissures in the rock can control the development of concretionary structures, which can result in somewhat tubular shaped objects (the fissures can form a long thin box, and the concretion approximates that, with rounded corners).

If I was forced to suggest a biogenic origin, it could be stagshorn coral or Thalassinoides. But it is not quite right.